In all my time as a PMC, the thought of being shot into a portal never crossed my mind.

Until a company known as the Institute of Dimensional Teleportation opens a portal to a world inhabited by small talking horses, which most people would tell you simply does not exist.

Newsflash: it does. And the guys that got to check it out were a special operations squad, from a Private Military Contracting Group, Underdog Contracting. The team was called Indigo Dolphin, a weird name for a group of exceptionally skilled people. However, an unfortunate turn of events left me stranded in this world, alone, with no backup, no way home, and a really weird job offer from a magical pony princess.

Seattle, Washington. April 18, 2020. 3:36 PM PST

My phone rang while I was stopped at a red light. Caller ID said it was Bobby, our training supervisor and operations planner. He also ran the HR department. And also the armory. We were a small company.

I answered with, “What’s up Bobby?”

“Hey Sarge. We got a mission for you.”

“Alright, whaddya have?”

“The Institute of Dimensional Teleportation has a bit of an... issue, regarding a recent test.”

My posture changed after hearing that company name. Underdog has had issues with them in the past, and they are never pretty.

“Aw shit,” I said, preparing for the worst. “What’s the deal?”

Bobby laid it all out for me. One of their researchers had opened a portal to some strange-ass world, with “talking ponies” and “magical creatures” and other fanstasy-esque things.

“So, what do they want us for?”

“The story takes a turn for the less fortunate. After he opened this portal, he wanted to see where it led to. So, he just walks into it. No protection at all! He even left his issued gun behind!”

All IDT staff are issued with firearms, just in case something comes out of a portal that isn’t too fond of humans.

“So?” I asked impatiently. It was like he didn't hear my question.

“So he comes back about 30 minutes later, with torn clothes and a story to tell. Apparently, he was-“I heard some shuffling as he presumably looked over the report. “-attacked by some small talking horses- ponies, who shouted at him, demanding he tell them who he was, What he was and who sent him. He-supposedly-barely makes it away, returns to the portal, and attempts to close it.”

“And?..”

“It fails to close.”

I exhaled, and said, “Of fucking course it doesn’t close.” How cliche.

Bobby continued, “So he calls the in-house security force, and they have the quadrant put under lockdown. A short time after, they call us.”

“Okay, but I still don’t see what they need us for.”

“They want us-more specifically, you- to lead an expedition into the world.”

I nearly laughed again, but held it in. “And why can’t they do it themselves?”

“Because their team isn’t equipped for this kind of thing. Oh, and they’ll pay us 50 million for it.”

My jaw dropped at the sound of that figure.

“Holy shit dude… that’s a lot of cash…”

“Yeah. How fast can you and Indigo be prepped for an expeditionary mission?

“With that figure under our noses, about 15 minutes.”

“Good. I’ll see you in briefing.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Underdog Contracting HQ, just North of Seattle. 3:53 PM

After flooring it the whole way to HQ, I jumped out of my car, sprinting to the main entrance.

As soon as I got inside the large, modern-esque lobby, my team, at the far end of the room, turned and waved me over.

Houston, a short, ridiculously muscled Hispanic man shouted, “Yo man, it’s about time your ass showed up! We’ve been waiting for you for like, 10 whole minutes!”

“Hey, I went as fast as I could! I went almost ten over the whole way!” I protested, a smile appearing on my face as I jogged over to where they stood.

“Only ten over? That’s slow, Sergeant! You’re getting old!”

“Just because my idea of fast is different than yours does not make me old!”

“Whatever, oldie!”

I sighed. Yep, this is what I dealt with.

“Are we all here?” I inquired.

A chorus of yesses arose from the collection of 5 standing impatiently in front of me.

I had Houston, A tall, skinny and surprisingly enthusiastic man from Colorado named Xander, a mid-sized guy built stout from Ohio named Ethan, a tall woman from Utah named Ashley, and a Hulking mass of a man nicknamed Dingo, from Australia.

“Well, then let’s gear up. Briefing in 10 minutes. Prep for an expedition, three days, woodland camouflage. Arm yourselves with whatever you want, but be reasonable. Move out.”

The group broke, each member headed for their locker room. Since Indigo Dolphin was special operations, we got our own locker rooms, for each member of the team. I pushed the door open to mine, and began the process of equipping myself. Stripping out of my black BDU’s, I donned woodland camouflage, per Bobby’s recommendation. Next came the light plate carrier and belt, with extra mag pouches and a dropleg holster. I decided that a boonie hat would best suit the environment, so a woodland one went on my head. I slid a SIG Sauer P229 in .40 S&W into my holster, and slung a modified FN-FNC assault rifle with a neat little red dot sight mounted on it over my neck. Lastly came a backpack, with some extra magazines and basic camp stuff in it. Also on my vest were a couple M67 frags and a few smoke grenades. Other assorted gear was placed strategically on my vest or belt, ‘cause you never know what’ll happen. Same principle applied to the frag grenades. I finished gearing up and headed out.

Once again, my entire team was already at briefing, anxiously waiting for the mission details. A few moments later, Bobby showed up and began our briefing.

“Alright guys, this mission is an expedition into a portal created by IDT.”

The groaning that normally followed that name was silent this time; we were being paid the big bucks for this.

“Your orders are to push through the portal, and head deeper into the world beyond. The mission is to last three days, upon which you will return to the portal and report your discoveries. The IDT will then decide whether to continue the expedition, or to cancel it then and there.”

“What about hostiles?” asked Xander.

“None confirmed, so watch your fire. Only fire if attacked. The natives are said to be unsure about humans, but may be persuaded to help or give information.”

“What do the natives look like?” Asked Ashley.

“Small quadrupeds, resembling horses. More accurately, ponies.”

Dingo said, “What? I don’t fucking be-”

“Believe it,” said Bobby, cutting him off, “Because it’s true.”

“Is this some kind of Joke?” Asked Xander, also in somewhat disbelief.

“If it was, I don’t think they’d be paying us so much. Now, if you look on your sheets you’ll see some extra information, drawn from the one eyewitness account, and speculation from IDT’s think tank.”

“Do we know anything about the native culture?” Houston asked.

Bobby shrugged. “Not really, but be careful. You don’t know what might hit a nerve.”

All my team looked at each other uneasily, trading confused looks before shrugging and moving on. We were being paid a lot for this, so we didn’t care much about backstory.

“So, we’re being paid 50 million to trapeze through some portal, walk around for three days, and come back? Piece of cake.” said Ethan.

“Don’t forget about the natives. Don’t go shooting some poor soul that was just curious. We don’t know what they know about us, so be prepared to explain. We want to look friendly, not invasive.”

Once again, my team looked at each other. We were all wearing combat vests and bandoliers, carrying assault rifles, and generally looked threatening. Ironic.

“Once we get the green light, we move out.” Bobby stated.

Almost as if on a cue, his phone rang. Annoying teenage pop music filled the room, as he fumbled with his phone, eventually shutting off the tone and raising it to his ear. After about 5 seconds of listening and a stout, “Yes sir!”, Bobby lowered his phone.

“That’ll be the green light. Move out.”

Well, that was quick.

Author's Note

Here is where I line myself up on the metaphorical firing line to take the tirade of comments sure to come. Please, criticize away!